Development of primary care, digitization of services among priorities of new health minister of Moldova

The development of primary care and telemedicine, the digitization of medical services and the simplification of procedures in the field of health are among the main priorities announced by new Health Minister Alexandru Gasnas. The official emphasized today that he would start his mandate with consultations with the ministry’s team and health professionals, in order to align the objectives of the upcoming reforms.

The new minister stressed that an important priority in his work was teamwork, and that all actions carried out by the Health Ministry would be for and about people.

“The first thing I will do is talk with the team of the Health Ministry, because you cannot go and make certain changes in the system, if you do not have a team with which you have synchronized all objectives. The second action I will take is to talk with professionals in the health system. We must tell them what the ministry’s ambitions are and go together to the citizens to explain what the benefits will be, because any reform will be for people and about people. These will be the first actions in the next two to three weeks,” Alexandru Gasnas said.

The official noted that, in his subsequent activity, he intends to move from the concept in which medical services are centered on the hospital to the concept of primary care, so that services are closer to people’s needs.

“As far as major strategies are concerned, we are talking about a paradigm shift, because, from a mathematical point of view, we cannot go on with the same fragmented funding formula for the system. We need cohesion and more unity. Thus, the most important reform that I want is, first of all, to move from the concept in which everything is centered on the hospital to primary care, together with the consultative component, so that services are closer to people’s needs,” Alexandru Gasnas also said.

The new health minister also highlighted that telemedicine would help reduce inequalities in society and the disparities in access to medical consultations.

“Before digitizing the health system, we must not digitize bureaucracy. First, we need to establish very clear rules and pathways for the way medical services are provided within the health system. This will allow us to digitize the system efficiently and to know in real time what is happening in the field,” the minister said.

Alexandru Gasnas added that planned medical services and services for chronic diseases must be closer to the population, while services that require experience and specialized teams must be concentrated in medical centers.

“I have been connected to medical policy since 2023. There are more challenges. We have certain traditions and inertia in the health system. We cannot change everything overnight, and it is natural for it to be so, because otherwise we would create only frustration and resistance in the system. I believe that changes can be made only through communication and understanding and through the awareness that both patients and doctors essentially have the same mission,” the new minister of health concluded.

The new cabinet of ministers, led by Prime Minister Vasile Tofan, today took the oath of office at the Presidency of Moldova, before Head of State Maia Sandu and Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu. The ceremony took place after, on July 21 evening, the parliament gave a vote of confidence to the Tofan government and approved the governing programme, European Economy, Efficient State.